


Personnel Growth

by Sororising



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Good old 'stuck in a cottage in the snow' trope, M/M, exchange fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 16:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17227622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sororising/pseuds/Sororising
Summary: This is forkangofu-cbas part of the holiday Winterhawk gift exchange, which I am very happy I saw since it prompted me to write the first thing I've managed all year (many thanks to Jenjo for organising!). It's just a little snapshot of a nice, unexpectedly peaceful day in Clint and Bucky's lives, with a bit of backstory that's implied but that I might write more of one day, we'll see. Hope you like it :)





	Personnel Growth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kangofu_CB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangofu_CB/gifts).



> This is for [kangofu-cb](http://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com) as part of the holiday Winterhawk gift exchange, which I am very happy I saw since it prompted me to write the first thing I've managed all year (many thanks to Jenjo for organising!). It's just a little snapshot of a nice, unexpectedly peaceful day in Clint and Bucky's lives, with a bit of backstory that's implied but that I might write more of one day, we'll see. Hope you like it :)

“What do you mean, you got it wrong?”

Bucky looks up as soon as he hears Clint's tone of voice – confused, mostly, but with more than a hint of suspicion. It's Natasha on the other end of the Facetime call, but Clint's phone is angled away from Bucky, so there's no way for him to make out whatever Nat's signing.

Even so, he can relate to Clint being suspicious of ulterior motives – Natasha getting something wrong is unusual, and her admitting it in a non-roundabout way is even more so. It's not that she's unwilling to admit mistakes, more that she gets annoyed by Clint's teasing every time one happens.

“Uh, okay,” Clint says, signing a quick one-handed _goodbye._ “Thanks for letting us know. Merry whatever, I guess?”

He hangs up, then turns to look at Bucky. who's paying full attention now. 

“Mission update?” It's just a guess, but there's not many other reasons for Nat to be calling rather than sending a text.

“You could say that,” Clint says, glancing out of the window at the steadily falling snow. Bucky had been surprised by how nice the cottage they'd been given as a base was; certainly not the usual SHIELD-standard bland apartment. He guesses they didn't have a lot of options somewhere this remote. 

Bucky makes sure Clint's looking back at him. “And?”

Clint just shrugs. “Mission update as in: there is no mission. False alarm. It's been fully checked out, and there's been no AIM activity here for over a year now.”

“So we have to head back already?”

“No transport for two days,” Clint says. “Guess you're stuck with me.” He doesn't sound annoyed – if anything, he sounds like he's teasing Bucky a little.

Bucky tries to keep his face blank. He likes being Clint's mission partner, and his friend, and he thinks he likes the occasional maybe-flirting thing they've had going on for the past few weeks. But he wants more time to process what exactly there is between them, and he isn't sure that the middle of nowhere with no other people around is the best place to do that.

Then again, thinking about how interfering some of their friends can be – especially when it comes to love lives – maybe he'll never have a better chance to figure out what it is he wants. From himself and from Clint. At least he knows Clint isn't the sort of person who's going to push him. There's no pressure here, which is the only reason Bucky feels comfortable even thinking about turning their friendship into something – well, something more.

* * *

“Do you think there was ever a mission?”

Clint blinks at Bucky, then makes the _again_ sign. They've built up the fire, found a suspiciously well-stocked kitchen and prepared enough food for six people – so, enough food for the two of them – and are slowly assembling a jigsaw which had the lid of its box missing, occasionally suggesting weirder and weirder possibilities for what the picture they're putting together is going to turn out to be.

Bucky is about ninety percent certain that it's a picturesque town at the foot of a snowy mountain, but he's waiting to see what Clint's next outlandish suggestion will be before he points that out.

“Was there a mission in the first place, do you think?”

Clint makes a satisfied humming noise as he finds the fourth corner piece. “Honestly? No idea. Right now, I don't really care.”

If Bucky had to bet on it, he'd guess that the 'mission' had been a ruse to make the two of them take a break for a couple days – Natasha, Steve and Sam are all pretty transparent about thinking that Bucky's work-life balance since he'd been cleared as an official agent is abysmal. Clint's is a lot better on paper, but his tendency to get into trouble on his days off kind of undermines that.

“Me neither,” he says, leaning into Clint's side a little more. “Hey, does this count as a holiday?”

“This is definitely a close-up of a Yeti,” Clint says, poking at the pile of snow-filled pieces he's gathered together. “Uh, sure. Why not? Surprise holiday.”

They fit a few more pieces together, until the mountain - “It's the knee. He's sitting down,” Clint insists – is beginning to take shape. Bucky nudges Clint gently until he looks at him.

“This might be my first holiday,” Bucky says, watching as Clint raises his eyebrows. “That I remember, anyway.” He isn't sure it counts as a full holiday if the pretext was recon for a potential mission, but it has all the crucial elements – nice place, no pressing responsibilities, and someone who you want to spend your precious free time with. There isn't anything else he can think of that would make this better. 

“No kidding? We should celebrate that. Don't think I saw any wine or anything, but I can have another look.”

Bucky doesn't like the taste of wine and can't get drunk without superhuman effort, so he just shrugs. One of his favourite things about hanging out with Clint is the way he reacts to some of the stranger or more upsetting aspects of Bucky's life – he's never dismissive, or overly casual about them, but he has a good balance between casual and overreacting to every tiny thing that Bucky appreciates. It means he can talk to Clint without psyching himself up for it, usually, which is something he doesn't take for granted.

“I can make excellent hot chocolate,” Clint offers. “Mini marshmallows and everything.”

“I like hot chocolate,” Bucky says, carefully not looking directly at Clint's small smile.

Their hands brush together as they reach across the half-finished jigsaw, and Bucky makes himself resist the gut instinct to pull back. He might have more than a few hang-ups to get over – and most likely another set of them in the back of his mind that he isn't even aware of yet – and he has no idea what might come of exploring this, but he knows one thing: it's going to be worth it to try.


End file.
